AA minute later Manchester United vs Liverpool match In August, you knew: Lisandro Martínez is real. Because that was when he fought, then barged through Mohamed Salah for no apparent reason and no apparent gain.
English football’s often toxic and perpetually self-deprecating rhetoric tells us how big men behave. But the reality is different: save, perhaps, an airport, there is nowhere safer to start a row than a Premier League pitch, because the chances of retaliation are almost nil. For example, consider Martin Keown and Ruud van Nistelrooy: Jumping someone from behind in a football posturing pantomime works well, but in a square go a martial artist will be able to exercise self-control because he knows there is no serious. danger
So, while Martinez engaged in a fun, bewildered Salah taught us nothing about his physical prowess, it spoke volumes about his mental invulnerability. He endured a disastrous start to his career in England, playing poorly United lost to Brighton Before being subbed off at half-time in August against Brentford His team lost 4-0. After that game, the respected judge and with good reason, Jamie Carragher left no room for doubt: Martinez was too young to cope with the physical side of – depending on your sensibility – “this league” or “our league”.
In such a context, what he did to a player like Salah speaks volumes for Martinez, because the possibility of quick, insulting revenge was important. Which means that his aggression is not demonstrative or accidental, just as his confidence is not weak or constructed; Instead, he does what he thinks is necessary, regardless of any external factors that might influence others.
Such was the case when United met Villa in a league and Carabao Cup double-header last month. after First game, Leon Bailly was so upset by Martinez’s combative style that he took to Twitter to express his displeasure despite scoring a fine goal in a good win for his side. “Very disappointed with the referees today. I couldn’t breathe for a second after I was elbowed twice in the ribs,” he said. “The linesman said I shouldn’t say anything because I was doing the same to Martinez. Sometimes I don’t understand why we got VAR. SMH.”
four days later, United found Villa again And Baillie, still smart, found time to pass on Martinez – who couldn’t come on in the 87th minute – at the first available opportunity, hanging onto the tackle for the afters. Then, after losing a grapple that left him on the ground, he lost his run, pushing and kicking. But there was no retaliation, Martinez was looking at him with a dead-eyed mixture of ambivalence and contempt because although the fight with him is demanding and fierce, it is not emotional, not pragmatic, not personal, and just about the game being controlled. ended in effect.
Arguably, Martinez’s war works well for him: since that Liverpool game, he has been almost uniformly sensational. It’s rare to see a team-building centre-back of aggression, agility, composure, intelligence and technique, but to see a 24-year-old do it, and be fun to watch, is especially unusual.
Against Liverpool, United’s first goal came because Martinez, receiving the ball 35 yards from goal, opted to punch an immediate and official pass – what we call the Roy Kane pass – into the leg, when others went back after a touch. or to the side. His ability on the ball also causes problems for opponents when they press him up, as they have to simultaneously cover a straight pass and a big switch out wide, without selling himself, so he can get past them and create an overload in midfield.
As with physical possessions, any skillful possession means nothing without the mindset that underpins it. A lack of this defined the post-Fergie Wilderness years as a lack of quality. What Eric Ten Haag signed players show is a willingness to take responsibility, a nous to assess situations intelligently, the imagination to try things and the moxie to act decisively.
Like many Argentine defenders, Martinez seems to have been born with an internal GPS system, always telling him the exact address of the line, from which he never strays. Usually eschewing the kind of attention-seeking violence that could hurt people, his desire to get close to an opponent allows him to dangle bodies and legs, causing doubt in the minds of officials whether a red card is a yellow card or a free yellow card. -Kicks and free-kicks coming together.
Nor has his height become a barrier yet. Most teams don’t play two big men up front — many don’t even play one — nor do they shoot long, aerial balls. But still, those who doubted Martinez’s ability to handle the fearsome power of Chris Wood, Che Adams and their men listened to ten Haag, who didn’t say much but said enough: “He’s having a good time.”
However, there is more to it than that. Timing means little without intensity and Martinez tackles aerial challenges like a piranha on a trampoline, whether winning the ball, making a block or just doing enough.
This spirit is contagious. Along with Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane are more aggressive; Behind him, David De Gea now comes in for a cross and passes the ball. But perhaps the biggest change has been in the man to his left. Growing up, Luke Shaw stood out at every level, his talent so vast that his easy-going attitude didn’t hinder him until he reached the highest level.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he finally established himself as an automatic choice only to leave again after the Euros, seeing out his time at Old Trafford. As such, it was less surprising that he lost his place to Tyrell Malaysia when he regained it and retained it, then volunteered to fill in for Martinez at centre-back.
Martinez seems to be a big part of this changed demeanor. At the end of hard work A home win over West Ham In October — in which he again displayed the fearlessness that defines him — he led a celebration with teammates and the crowd. But after that he sought out Shaw, not for congratulations but for Kajol, displaying the kind of confrontational leadership that connects so many of the club’s most important and respected players; Players who can be relied upon to deliver consistently and in the clutch, inspiring those around them to never give up; Players who stood for something. You don’t have to be tall to be giant.
None of this is to say Martinez is perfect. in The first Manchester derby of the season In October – although he was given little midfield ballast, and without him his team would have been further behind at half-time – he stood out from Erling Haaland at various points and should come up with something different on Saturday. Likewise, when United conceded twice in the first 11 minutes of the league game at Villa – although he was again compromised by midfield, this time absent anyone who could run faster – he was uncharacteristically slow.
But these are outside games and we saw in Qatar that Martinez is focused enough to contribute even if he is not playing regularly. He lost his first game in Argentina. For their important second is included, which they Won against Mexico with a clean sheet; Then came off the bench against Australia In the last 16, he saved his team’s narrow lead with a brilliant tackle before celebrating as he scored.
However, never before have the players who have absorbed the incomparable euphoria of winning a World Cup subsequently been thrown into the depths of the constant grind of an English winter and cut season. So Martinez must find a new kind of mental strength and the signs are good. When Scott McTominay texted him to congratulate him after the final, he responded by advising “we’ll go for the next one” and while the words are delivered easily, Martinez is not one for idle chatter – just ask Mohamed Salah.
